Boeing Chinook, Osprey production still on hold

Boeing Co. production of CH-47 Chinook helicopters and V-22 Osprey tiltrotor planes remains halted today at a Pennsylvania plant as the Defense Department probes how a plastic rivet-gun cap got in the fuselage of an aircraft built at the site.

Boeing has until today to deliver a "corrective action plan" for how to prevent similar events in future, Ann Jensis- Dale, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency said in an e-mail today. The incident is being reviewed by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, she said.

The plant received a "corrective action request" from the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency on Nov. 21 that halted government acceptance of any aircraft from the site after the company found the cap in a V-22 during a quality inspection. Boeing previously suspended production in May after discovering slashed wires on one helicopter and a misplaced washer in another. A disgruntled employee later pleaded guilty to cutting the wires.

"No decision will be made as to resumption of deliveries until the company's response has been received and evaluated," Jensis-Dale said today. The cap discovered was three-quarters of an inch long and three-eighths of an inch wide, she said.

Employees continue to report for shifts even though production has been stopped at the Ridley Park plant outside of Philadelphia, Boeing spokesman John Williamson said in an interview today.

'Fluid Situation'

Williamson declined to provide details on how long the agency review would last and when production could resume.

"We're hoping to get back into production as soon as possible but we don't have time frame right now," Williamson said. "It's a very fluid situation."

Boeing, the world's second-largest maker of commercial jets after Airbus SAS, had defense sales valued at $32.1 billion last year, or 48 percent of total revenue of $66.4 billion. Chicago- based Boeing gained $1.11 to $40.69 at 3:31 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had dropped 55 percent this year before today.

Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin Corp. is the Pentagon's largest supplier.